


The Importance of Time Off

by hotchocolatedictator



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Day Off, Gen, Libraries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28451964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotchocolatedictator/pseuds/hotchocolatedictator
Summary: Tosh takes a day off.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 16
Collections: Torchwood Fan Fests: 2020 Holiday Exchange





	The Importance of Time Off

**Author's Note:**

  * For [engagemythrusters](https://archiveofourown.org/users/engagemythrusters/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this!

Tosh was taking a day off.

This was quite an unusual event - it happened approximately once every four or five months, and almost never without a bit of interference from whichever member of the team had decided that she clearly needed a break. Staying off work was much more common, but that was the header under which days where Tosh was beaten up by work - either physically, stuck in her flat with broken bones and healing wounds after disastrous field missions, or mentally (after Mary sprung to mind. Or Brecon Beacons. That was… not a good month).

Today, however, was an actual Day Off, to do what she liked with, at Jack’s insistence. He’d caught her still at her workstation at 11pm, bent over a fiddly bit of circuitry in what she thought might be an alien toaster (or whatever the equivalent was), straining her eyes in the dim hub lights, and declared that she was overworking herself and he didn’t want to see her back there for at least 24 hours ( _ except for emergencies  _ wasn’t said, but it was implied anyway).

And that was why Tosh was still in her flat at half past nine on a Tuesday morning, trying to figure out what she actually did when she had a day off.

A lot of what she did, as it turned out, was work, which she couldn’t do because she didn’t have her stuff… no, because it was her day off and she couldn’t work on her day off, she told herself firmly. Or going to the pub with the team, which she couldn’t do because it was 9:30 in the morning and even if it was socially acceptable to get drunk then, the rest of the team was at work, and going to the pub so early on her own was no fun. Her best bet, if she was honest, was probably just to wander around and see where she ended up.

She might as well have breakfast out - she wasn’t really sure what she had in her flat that would make a good breakfast anyway. Tosh had a lot of breakfasts out, pastries at barely open cafes early in the morning, or cups of coffee on days when she’d never gone home in the first place, had been called in at four in the morning and stayed after the emergency was over because it was half past six already and there was no point going home for two hours.

It still wasn’t exactly busy at the cafe she went to - one she went to quite a lot, and honestly it was nice to see the staff when they weren’t bleary-eyed with sleep - but there were more people than she normally saw there. She had a croissant and a cup of coffee that wasn’t quite as good as Ianto’s, but not half bad. Might as well take a while over eating them - she wasn’t in a hurry today. There was quite a nice view of the bay from her seat, too. The downside to an underground base is that the view was less than spectacular. Non existent, more like.

There was only so long Tosh could spend at the cafe, however - she wasn’t going to spend her entire day off somewhere she went most days anyway. After finishing her coffee she got up again, and decided to try and find somewhere else to go.

* * *

It wasn’t the nicest of days. The weather had been a bit cold and cloudy to start with, a dull sort of day that couldn’t even commit to being properly miserable. It finally started to rain at about 10:45, a light shower that turned into proper heavy rain. Tosh pulled her coat tighter around her and dug an umbrella out of her bag, deciding that maybe she would find somewhere to end her wander sooner rather than later.

She walked past shops, and then houses, trying to find somewhere she could satisfactorily wait out the weather. To be honest, she lost track of how long she had walked for, in the wet gloom. 

Eventually, she found somewhere that looked good. The large shape of the Cardiff Central Library, with its blue glass exterior and rounded corners, looked into view, and Tosh hurried to take refuge in the warmth and familiarity of it. There was always something familiar about a library, wherever it was - the rows of shelves, usually white plastic or something that looked like wood (perhaps real wood, perhaps a plastic imitation); the posters on the walls advertising for local groups, library-run activities or merely some encouragement to get reading; the order of the books, arranged by subject or author or both, with identifying stickers on the spines. Whatever library you ended up in, there was a certainty that you would find a story familiar enough to make you feel at home.

It was warm inside, and dry, and Tosh was relieved to be out of the rain. She could still hear the sound of it hitting the pavement, but the noise was dampened by the library walls. With a nod to the librarian, she shook out her umbrella and left it in the rack by the door, before wandering further into the library.

* * *

She ended up in the fiction section with a news-stand romance novel, because it was that sort of a day. One where she didn’t want anything that needed that much thinking, that she could just lose herself in without getting too invested. That sort of a book.

There were some good cosy corners, and Tosh curled up thankfully, suddenly glad for the day off in a way she hadn’t been before. Cracking open her book, she gave a glance to the dog eared pages, worn soft at the edges, and a quick sniff to the paper. It had that old book smell - it was clearly quite a favourite. She turned the page, and started chapter one.

* * *

By two o’clock, Tosh had finished her novel and was part way through a collection of science fiction short stories, alternating between smiling in amusement (she’d have probably chucked, but it was a library, after all) at some of the descriptions of aliens and wondering if there were actually life forms like that out there, and exactly how bad it would be if they invaded. At least it would be a bit of a laugh to get attacked by something out of a book. She was sure Ianto would find a way to make a pun about it.

For now, however, she slipped the book back into its place on the shelf and decided to go and find some lunch.

* * *

All in all, it wasn’t a bad day. It was nice to have a break from the takeaway, and it had been ages since Tosh had had the chance to just sit down and read a book without interruptions. Most of her reading these days was chapters read hastily between projects, on pdfs and online readers on her computer, or (if she had the energy) before she fell asleep at night.

But for the first time in… how long was it, now? She couldn’t remember. For the first time in a long, long time, she’d just read straight through the afternoon, devouring book after book like she was nine years old again, oblivious to the weather outside.

Which, now she thought about it, looked like it might be beginning to clear up.

When it began to darken outside, Tosh debated over checking out a book or two, finally deciding that there was no harm in taking one out. She might be able to make time to read it (probably while the Rift was being slow), and even if she didn’t, the worst that would happen is that it would end up overdue. Probably.

After digging out a library card that she was honestly surprised still worked from the depths of her wallet, Tosh left the library, armed with her umbrella once more. As she walked back towards her flat, she wondered vaguely what an alien library would be like. What materials would they write on? What would their languages look like? Would they use some technology, or would they hand write? Would they even use a format humans would recognise as books? She’d have to ask Jack if he knew sometime.

* * *

The next day at work, Tosh was noticeably less tired, and she wasn’t rushing to finish taking a look at the (almost definitely) alien toaster - well, she was eager to get it done, but perhaps less so than she would’ve been the day before.

As she sat back down at her desk - and yes, it might be a little bit later than she might normally have come in, especially if she had a project on - and picked up on her fiddling where she had left off (see, it would make sense for that bit to be the slot for putting bread in, and then if you press that button… if she just fixed the wires she could prove it would heat up, and then the only question is  _ what shape was that bread that it could fit in there? _ ) everything else continued on mostly as normal. Ianto stopped by with a mug of coffee after a while, and she sipped it gratefully. The cafe may not be half bad, but this was sheer perfection. Gwen and Owen mostly seemed to be being quiet that morning, which was good. Noise and drama had its place, and Tosh didn’t reckon that Wednesday morning was it. Jack had not yet emerged from his office.

She was most of the way done with the wires before Jack showed up.

‘You’re looking better.’

‘Thanks,’ Tosh said, just a little bit sarcastic, and Jack hastily corrected himself.

‘I mean you look less tired and stressed. Having a day off looks like it agreed with you.’

‘It was nice,’ Tosh admitted, with a small smile, ‘Thanks for getting me to take it.’

‘No problem,’ Jack beamed in return. ‘So, did you do anything interesting?’

‘Visited the library. Oh, I was going to ask you about what alien books are like!’

‘That may take a while… do you have five or six hours to spare?’

Tosh raised an eyebrow and gestured to the (she was sure it was a) toaster. ‘After this, maybe.’

‘Actually, I think we may have some in the archives that’ve come through the Rift at various points. Ask Ianto, I’m sure he’ll know,’ Jack mused.

Tosh nodded, making a mental note to remember to do so. 

After that, Jack returned to… whatever it was he was doing in his office. Tosh finished off her wiring (it was a toaster!) and began to write up paperwork on it, idly wondering about the bread.

* * *

The general peaceful air didn’t last long. A weevil sighting coincided with an object coming through the Rift, and the team was split in two trying to deal with both events at once (to say nothing of the brief but fierce argument over who had the right to use the SUV). By the time both groups had made it back to the Hub, any remaining traces of a quiet day had been shattered through the morning’s work and the paperwork generated by it. Tosh could sense an argument just waiting to happen.

Leaving the new bit of Rift junk on her desk for the time being (she wasn’t quite sure what this one was yet), she instead decided to find Ianto. It was as good a time as any, after all.

‘Jack mentioned you might have some alien books in the archives somewhere? I was wondering if I might take a look.’

‘We’ve got quite a selection. You wouldn’t believe how varied they can get.’

As the two of them began to head towards the archives, Ianto took a look back at the main hub behind them.

‘Good timing,’ he said, as the beginning of what promised to be a rather heated conversation broke out behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't guessed I'm very invested in that toaster...
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


End file.
